A Together Kind of Chirstmas
by Ptolomeia
Summary: When Marinette overhears Adrien say he's been left alone on Christmas day, she somehow finds the courage to drag him home and he ends up spending Christmas with the Dupain-Cheng family. Is this what Christmas is really like?
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

I know, I know, I'm late. BUT it's still December, so not too horribly late? I've been working on this for a while and the next chapter WILL go up soon. I just need to finish it... It was originally going to be a oneshot. Then it got long and I didn't have enough time and I really want to post something for all y'all.

Have some slightly Angsty fluff and some awkward teenagers to end/start your year on a good note!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Adrien didn't want to feel like this, really he didn't. Hell, it was Christmas morning, he'd much rather be at home with— Damn it, he hadn't come out here to mope. He'd just needed to get away from it all. Adrien didn't want to feel like this, really he didn't. Hell, it was Christmas morning, he'd much rather be at home with— Damn it, he hadn't come out here to mope. He'd just really needed to get away from it all.

"It's just not fair, Plagg," He said, entirely missing the "not thinking about it" point. "I mean, I know he's busy, but it's Christmas. Couldn't he be home just one year?" Especially now, with Mom gone…

"Cheese?" offered Plagg, out in the open in public for once. After all, it wasn't like anyone was walking around on Christmas. They were all at home with their families. Adrien tried not to growl, like Chat might. Weren't cats supposed to be solitary creatures?

He shook his head at Plagg, who shrugged and went back to munching. Really, given how much the kwami liked cheese, Adrien felt kind of touched, but it still didn't sooth the sting of his father been out of town and leaving him alone for yet another Christmas. Yes, cats were supposed to be solitary, but they still would curl up in people's laps, wanting pats, wanting red gloved hands to run through his hair and-

He shook his head, trying to derail this latest depressing train of thought. She was probably at home, with her family. She'd made it perfectly clear she didn't want anything aside from a working relationship with him, no matter how much his chest ached when they weren't together.

"I mean, he's constantly gone working, constantly making me be the perfect son. My schedule is always done to the damn minute, always scheduling things without asking me. It's always about what he wants. He never even asks me, not that he's ever here to do so..." He tried to be the perfect son, and he loved his father. A lot. But this was just too far and he needed to vent. Here, away from anyone who might hear him, it was safe to get this off his chest. It wasn't like Plagg was going to tell anyone.

"I wish..." He let out a dejected breathe, leaning over the railing and looking towards the horizon. "I wish, just once, I could have a family Christmas."

* * *

Marinette really wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up with her back pressed to the wall that Adrien was standing on top of, listening to him rant to himself about his father. Really, she hadn't meant to eavesdrop... She'd been out delivering some fresh pastries for close friends of the family. Christmas morning, Christmas dinner, that was special, that was about family, but lunch was about the family you made, not just were born with. So, she'd found herself walking down mostly deserted streets, having dropped off her delivery when she heard a familiar voice drifting down to her. She'd kept walking, part of her trying to place the place the voice that she wasn't really paying attention to-after all, mom and dad were waiting for her at home, and it was Christmas.

Then she'd realized it was Adrien's voice, and had panicked and had somehow ended up with her back glued to the wall, trying to breathe more quietly and hoping he wouldn't notice her.

As she stood there, she started listening to the words he was actually saying, and she felt something in her chest tighten. Who wanted to be abandoned on Christmas? She wanted to reach out to him, to help him. He was so kind and patient and wonderful... no one should be this unhappy.

Tikki stuck her head out of Marinette's purse and butted against her hand. Marinette looked down, and saw her little Kwami smiling up at her encouragingly.

Later, Marinette would not be able to say where she got the guts to do this. Maybe she was channeling Ladybug, maybe it was just the fact that he was someone in pain, and Marinette always felt the need to help people, maybe it was a Christmas miracle. She really wasn't sure. Somehow, though, she found herself running up the stairs to her right that would lead her to Adrien.

She was fairly certain it was only the fact that he wasn't looking at her that stopped her from turning into a gibbering mess. She reached out, grabbed his hand and he whirled around to face her, beautiful, bright, intelligent green eyes wide. She almost faltered, but persevered.

"Follow me," she managed, without stumbling over it, before turning away from where his beauty would make her lose her determination. She took off running, her adrenaline giving her wings. After a few stumbling steps, she felt him start to run behind her. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

After almost a year of being Ladybug in her spare time (and during school, and during other occasions where she had other other things to do than stop a madman with a grudge who wanted her jewelry (even if it was magical jewelry)) she was in very good shape. She sprinted down streets, whipping around corners and never once felt him falter behind her. All that fencing must keep him in good shape. A shape she had admired far too often, daydreaming in class as he sat in front of her.

She refused to let herself get distracted by the cute boy (who had made no move to let go of her hand!), instead, she picked up the pace, leading him closer and closer to her goal. Her smile spread as her target came in sight. She pulled an even sharper turn than she'd need to turn the corner, threw open the door and used their combined momentum to swing Adrien into the bakery ahead of her, and letting his pull her in after him, making sure to grab the door and pull in closed behind them. He stood still and swung her head of him, letting her momentum overcome his inertia and drag both of them up the stairs past the bakery up into the house proper. Why couldn't physics concepts like momentum and inertia make sense not just when she was saving thing, but also when she was doing homework? Sometimes life was so unfair.

They stopped at the top of the stairs, and Marinette couldn't help but smiling. Adrien was standing in her house, smiling, if looking kinda confused. She tried to stop herself from swooning. After all, her mission wasn't over yet. She yanked off her boots, and took off her coat as she tried to figure out what she'd say to her parents.

Before she could think of a plan of attack-where was that damn Chat Noir to provide a distraction when she really needed it?-her parents appeared in the living room. Oh well, no time to plan, time to improvise then.

"Mom, Dad," She said, speaking way too quickly. "This is Adrien. He's a classmate. His parents are out of town right now socanhestaywithusforChristmas?"

Her parents looked from their daughter, with her wide, hopeful, slightly desperate smile, to her friend, who was looking dumbfoundedly at their daughter, his jaw actually hanging slack for a moment, before he shook his head and smiled slightly sheepishly at them, and finally at each other, years of marriage making no words necessary, before they came to a conclusion.

"Of course you're welcome here, Adrien," Her mother said smiling, as both she and her husband came forward to greet the children.

"Yes!" Marinette jumped in the air, whooping, and then threw her arms around Adrien. Before he could figure out if he could hug her back in front of her parents, she gave a terrified, horrified shriek, and faster than either Adrien or her parents could follow she had disappeared upstairs.

Once in the safety of her room, she couldn't decide if she wanted to scream, jump for joy or bang her head against the wall. On the one hand, she'd actually talked to Adrien and held his hand and now he was even in her house! On the other, she'd practically kidnapped him, dragged him across the city, and now her parents were going to meet him and with the way she kept stuttering around him they'd just know and she'd never hear the end of it. Whatever way she looked at it, it was a mess. Why couldn't an akuma just show up so she could run away? Chat Noir was infinitely easier to deal with. Tikki landed on her shoulder, trying to be comforting.

* * *

Adrien turned slowly turned to where her parents stood in what seemed to be her living room. Adults. Adults he knew how to deal with. Pretty classmates kidnapping him—pleasant as that was—less so, but adults were easy. He felt his posture straighten, and a confident smile spread. He tried to pass off his faint blush as being from running across the city, not from having his wishes granted by a beautiful and kind princess, who finally managed to talk to him without stuttering. Even if she had run off. His eyes flicked to the doorway she'd vanishes through, wanting to go after her and see if she was ok. That shriek had been kinda alarming. Ha! Shriek! Alarming! Good one! But first, adults.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng," He said, now in full adult mode, extending his hand for a shake. .

"Oh please," Mr. Dupain said with a large smile, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. He had a good handshake. "Call me Tom."

"And I'm Sabine," said Mrs. Che-Sabine. "I'm sorry Marinette ran off before making proper introductions. Here, let me take your coat."

"It's fine ma'am. I'm sorry to intrude on Christmas," He said, moving slowly to remove his coat, to ensure Plagg would have enough time to hide.

"Intrude? Nonsense!" Tom said, smiling widely. "We're more than happy to have you."

"And we have more than enough food," Sabine reassured him, taking his coat.

"And whose fault might that be?" Tom said, giving his wife a look. .

"I don't know, Tom, we're usually only feeding three people. More than twice that many types of bread on the table as there are people certainly isn't my fault. And that doesn't even touch the matter of desserts," She snapped back right back.

"Yes, and what about the Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, not to mention the general zhao chicken, and the other Chinese foods you make," Tom returned, before seeming to notice Adrien again. Adrien forced his smile to stay on his face, and unhunched his shoulders. He was pretty sure they'd been teasing each other. Probably. God, the last thing he wanted was to get caught up in a family fight right now. He watched as the adults exchanged a look, and suppressed the urge to hide or transform. Tom had been nice when they'd come to the parent day, maybe he was just misreading the situation.

"Which reminds me," Sabine said, conspicuously looking over her shoulder towards where Adrien assumed the kitchen was. "I should probably go check on the food. Is the Buche almost ready, love?" She asked her husband.

"Almost," he replied, smiling softly back. Suddenly, Adrien wasn't quite sure how he'd imagined these two had been being hostile towards each other. "Adrien, would you mind going upstairs and telling Marinette that they Buche will be ready for delivery in," for some reason, he looked over at his wife. Wasn't he the baker? "oh about 45 minutes? I need to do the icing."

"Of course, Sir," Adrien replied, happy to help, and and get into more familiar territory.

"Thanks," Tom said, walking towards the stairs downstairs and ruffling Adrien's hair as he passed. "And what's your favorite pastry?"

"Chocolatine," fell out of Adrien's mouth before he even think, so moved was he by the warmth in the simple gesture.

"Alright," Tom replied as he headed down the stairs.

"Please take your boots off before heading upstairs" Sabine added as she went into the kitchen, leaving Adrien standing frozen at the top of the stairs.

It would be quite a few minutes, and a not-so-gentle poke from Plagg, before he managed to gather himself enough to bend down and get his shoes off.

* * *

Marinette hadn't come close to calming down properly when there was a knock at the trapdoor that led to the rest of the house.

"Marinette?" His voice called, sounding kind of uncertain and oh so beautiful. "Can I come in?"

"YES!" She blurted out at the thought of having Adrien actually in her room, before clamping her hands over her mouth and turning bright red. Adrien. Actually. In. Room. GAH!

"Hi," He said, pushing it open. "Your dad wanted me to ask you to—" His head cocked to the side as he cut himself off. "Are those pictures of me?"

Marinette turned in horror to see the pictures she hadn't even thought of taking down, she'd been so overwhelmed.

"I... er... They...I mean they..." It was even worse than usual. She couldn't even figure out what she'd want to say if she wanted to speak. How the hell was she supposed to explain the ridiculous number of pictures of him she had pinned up around her room. At least her computer was still dark. The ones on her wall were bad enough. She wished she could just faint. But then she'd have to explain why she'd fainted to Adrien and her parents... Never in her life, not even during the physics exam last week where nothing had made any sense, had she wanted an akuma to attack more. ANYTHING to get her out of this mess.

"Fall Jacket, last year. Winter pants." He said, looking at each picture in turn. He glanced around her room and she prayed her schedule would stay up. Or possibly fall and hit one of them on the head so they could forget all about this. Either would work.

"Marinette, I was impressed by your hat, but I had no idea you were this into fashion. Do you use other designers to inspire your work, or are you just a really huge fan of my father's work?"

Marinette looked at him with her mouth hanging open. She stayed like that until he finally turned around to actually look at her. "Marinette, are you alright?" He frowned.

"I... uh... I..."

"I think it's really cool that you're so passionate about this," He said, giving her an encouraging smile, but the rest of his expression looked worried and confused. God, why was he so nice? He was trying to make her comfortable and all she was was a giant blushing mess and she might explode. Where was Alya to give her moral support when she needed it. She buried her face in her hands and whimpered. She couldn't run away, it was her damn room. She heard him sigh. She'd wanted to give him a nice Christmas and she couldn't even managed that.

The memory of how sad he'd sounded at the top of the stairs put steel in her spine. She was Ladybug even without the mask and he needed her help. She could do this.

"That's a nice dress," He said, sounding more and more unsure. It hurt her heart to hear him like that. She forced her hands back to her sides and looked to where he was gesturing at the dress she'd made herself for Christmas. It was simple, but nice. Red, princess seams for the the shape, long sleeves and a fullish skirt, which ended at her knees. She'd embroidered it with white and green, starting from a narrow section just under her bust line. The spread as it moved down, until it covered nearly

"So... These... Darts?" He said, hopefully, pointing at the seams. "Are nice with the..." He trailed off, and looked rather helplessly between her and the dress.

"Those are called princess seams. They're to help give the dress its shape, since the fabric is a weave, not a knit."

"Why does that matter?" Adrien asked tentatively.

"Well, weaves and knits... Wait, let me get some scraps." She darted over to her scrap fabric box and started rummaging through it for what she needed.

"Well, you see, a knit is much easier to drape. See how it falls over my hand?"

Over the next hour Marinette had explained every detail of her Christmas dress, from the cut to the different embroidery stitches she'd used. They had moved to sit next to each other on her chaise, looking at some of her ideas for future projects. Marinette was too excited and confident to do anything aside from blush slightly at her proximity of her crush. Design, fashion, sewing, those where the only places she had anything close to the confidence Ladybug had as naturally as breathing. And Adrien seemed impressed and interested. The tiny part of her not totally absorbed in talking about design wishes this moment would never end.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when her mom knocked on the trapdoor.

"Marinette," she called up. "The Bûche is ready to be delivered."

"C-coming!" She called back, trying to get her heartbeat to slow down as Adrien looked at her in concern. "S-sorry Adrien. I have to go deliver this. It's not far away. I shouldn't be very long. You can chill in the living room. We have bo—"

"Could," he said, interrupting her, before blushing and then forging on. "Could I come with you?"

"I... I don't want to drag you out in the cold." She offered, really not sure how to deal with him actually wanting to be around her. She was a lot more confident after the conversation about design, but it was still Adrien, the most attractive boy ever who apparently really likes her designs.

"No, I'd like to keep you company." He smiled brightly at her and she nearly swooned.

* * *

Adrien couldn't help but smirk as Marinette glared a little at him as he carefully carried the bag with the box with the Bûche in it carefully along the streets of Paris. He'd won the very tiny argument about who got to carry the bag. Well, he'd told Tom he'd be happy to carry the bag, his little part to help. Marinette had started to argue that it was her job, but then Tom had said, "If he's staying with us for Christmas, he's family and he can do this." And so here Adrien was, walking next to his quietly fuming classmate, with a giant grin, carrying the Bûche, being part of the family. In the space of not even hours, she'd dragged him in, given him a home and a family, at least for the night. He didn't think he could stop smiling if he tried. He felt like he belonged. He felt like people cared about him, like they actually wanted him around. It felt like being Chat. He could feel the cat sneaking out in his smirk and his walk. Hell, this felt better than being Chat, because Marinette, her parents, they didn't like him because he was saving Paris. He didn't really know why they liked him, but they really seemed to do so. Especially Marinette. Beautiful, confident, passionate Marinette (at least, she was when he wasn't around) had managed to overcome her usual shyness and almost literally drag him home. Yep, this smile wasn't going anywhere.

He glanced down at her, where she was glaring at the ground, blushing slightly. He wanted her to open up again. He wanted to see the fire in her eyes that reminded him so much of- No. She was at home, with her family, not with him. He was not going to waste his time with this girl who'd decided to bring him into her family for Christmas pining over a girl who didn't even want to know his real name.

"So, Marinette," he said, causing her to look up and blush a deeper shade of red. Well, at least she wasn't running away. "Who's your favorite designer? Aside from my father, that is." He felt a bitter ember flare in his stomach at the thought of his father, only to be suddenly doused with cold fear. What if Marinette was only interested in him, trying to get close to him, because of his father. What if-

"Oh, Agreste is a good designer," Marinette said after a moment's thought. "But is hardly call him my favorite. He's one of the pillars of the fashion world, but he's a little too reserved and conservative for my taste. Really, I prefer the work of..." She trailed off and gave him a truly horrified look, confusing the hell out of him and still not telling him the name of her favorite designer. "Not that your dad's work isn't good! I mean, he has a really good sense of line and..." Her whole body seemed to slump at once as she trudged on. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your dad's work." She made it several more steps before she turned back to see where Adrien had frozen in his steps. "Adrien... Are you alright?"

It was the look of such genuine concern that broke through to him. He started to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he was clutching his sides and bending over. She wasn't interested in him because of his father. She was so worried about offending him with such a simple comment.

"Adrien?" She squeaked, the concern obvious. He looked up at her, trying to catch his breath to reassure her, but her eyes gone huge with worry just made him laugh all the harder. He wasn't sure why he was laughing so hard, but it felt good. All the anger and stress and disappointment flowed out of him as he laughed and laughed and laughed.

"I didn't think it was that funny..." She said and he could hear the pout in her voice. He tried to control his laughter then. He didn't want to offend her.

"Sorry, Princess," He said, straightening up and offering a placating hand. "I'm not offended that my father isn't your favorite designer."

One of her eyebrows went up. "Princess?" She asked, suddenly nothing like the blushing girl she'd been most of the night and entirely the sassy young woman he'd had the pleasure of protecting.

Adrien felt his face turn red. Apparently Chat Noir had decided to make an appearance without consulting him. Oops.

"So, um, are we almost at your friend's house?" Adrien asked, gesturing with the hand that held the miraculously undamaged bag. Really, with his luck it should be an unrecognizable mess by now.

"They live at the end of the street," she replies and he can hear both the eye roll and the warmth in her voice as she turned to continue leading them in the right direction. Adrien followed quietly, still blushing.

Still, that was the most relaxed and comfortable he'd seen her since she grabbed his hand earlier that day. Maybe Chat should be making his presence a little more known. A smirk spreading across his still blushing face, he picked up his pace, determined to catch up with his princess.

* * *

Marinette hurried down the street away from the far too knowing looks of her family's friends, dragging Adrien behind them. A girl could only take so many knowing looks and suggestive comments before she needed to flee. And that was ignoring how incredibly bright red she'd turn and how damn huge his smirk had grown when Manon had asked if this time he was her boyfriend. His stupid, gorgeous smirk was not helpful, even if it was adorable...

"So," Adrien asked, his smirk turning slightly apologetic, as she forcibly dragged him down the street. "who is your favorite designer?"

"You..." Marinette started, before mustering up her courage to speak properly. He was so kind it broke her heart. "You don't have to listen to me talk about fashion." It was nice of him to listen to her talk but, "Your dad is Gabriel Agreste, you probably know all this stuff." after all, it wasn't like she knew nothing about baking. He'd probably been bored out of his mind all afternoon.

"Actually," Adrien said, reaching up to scratch the back of his head in a strangely familiar way, "I know more about hair and makeup that I do about Fashion. I mean, I know about the cuts and styles, but mostly I just put on whatever they give me.

"What, really?" Marinette asked, turning to face him, her incredulity spreading across her face.

"Well… yeah," He offered, looking a little nervous. "I mean, my father never really talks to me, so it's not like he explains his designs. I've seen enough to know you're really talented though!" Was… Was Adrien rambling? He was looking kind of flustered. Either way, Marinette needed to change the topic fast. 'My dad never really talks to me'? She knew she'd made the right choice dragging him home.

"No, I mean," Think fast girl! "You're into hair and makeup?"

"Oh!" Suddenly he was bright red. "I, um… yes? _Please don't tell Nino_. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Don't worry," She reassured him quickly. "Your secret's safe with me."

The Adrien she was used to was calm and collected and kind and sweet and confident. This new side of him… just made him all the more attractive, she realized. She was falling for this new side of him as hard as she'd fallen for the rest of him. The more time she spent with him the more she realized how complex he was, how much she didn't know, how much she wanted to. It really just wasn't fair.

"Thanks, Princess," He smiled at her. Argh. Again with the Princess. The last person she wanted to be thinking about was Chat. Well, not really, he was her partner, and she did hope his Christmas was going well. He said he was having a family dinner and had seemed really excited about it. No doubt she'd hear all about on the next patrol. And she'd be happy to listen to her happy Chat. He was kinda cute when he got excited like that… Wait! What was she doing thinking about Chat when there was a perfectly good Adrien to be paying attention to.

"So, hair and make up?" She asked, one more time, hoping to get him to open up. She knew about fencing, chinese, but she'd never seen any hint of this interest.

"What, you think my hair looks this good naturally?" He smirked, preening slightly. Marinette rolled her eyes. Blushing slightly. "Really," he continued, smirk growing at her, "You should see me when I wake up…" He trailed off, eyes going wide. "I mean—Before I've had a chance to go at my hair with a comb. Which I do. In the mornings. Not that you should be there when I wake up. Not that you shouldn't be there when I wake up, either!" And suddenly Marinette realized where his mind had gone and suddenly they were both bright red.

"I… um… er…" Marinette stuttered, mind completely overloaded with the idea of Adrien with bed head. "And makeup?" She finally managed to squeak.

"Well, I don't wear any, but I do watch tutorials. And after being a model for so long, and getting lots of tips from the hair and makeup people when I was younger, I know my way around it." He smiled a little shyly at her and Marinette just had to stop herself from combusting. He was too damn cute.

"They gave you pointers? Is that normal?" Marinette asked. She really liked design, but knew next to nothing about what actually happened backstage during a fashion show.

"Well, my father would have to run the show, so he'd often leave me in the care of the hair and makeup people. They'd teach me all sorts of things, give me pointers, let me play with their hair or make up. I really enjoyed being able to do that. They seemed to have a lot of fun too. They always said that being able to help a girl with this kind of stuff would make me a real catch…" And suddenly he was blushing again. "Are you into hair and makeup at all? You're hair always looks really nice." And now she was blushing too and it was a giant, wonderful blushfest with lots of internal screaming and she hoped it would never end.

Unfortunately, they came to her house before she could really answer.

* * *

While Adrien had enjoyed the walk (minus his embarrassing conversational misteps. Seriously, he really needed to channel Chat slightly differently because this flirting was not going well. Wait, had he just thought of his interactions with Marinette as flirting? But what about his Lady? Damn it, he'd told himself he wasn't going to think about her tonight), it was nice to be back in the warmth of the Dupain-Cheng home. He found himself smiling again as he took off his winter wear.

"Hi mom, where's dad?" Marinette asked as she pulled off her own coat.

"Oh, he's down in the bakery, finishing something up," Sabine replied, strange twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, Adrien, I just noticed your scarf! It's absolutely lovely. The blue really compliments your complexion."

"Yeah, his dad got for his birthday!" Marinette said a little too quickly, with a weird emphasis.

" _But Marinette_ ," Her mother continued, switching to Chinese for some reason. " _Isn't that the scarf you made him for his birthday? I remember you picking out the yarn and you spent so much time knitting it…_ "

Adrien felt the world shift under him.

* * *

A/N:Yes, I am aware I'm evil. Don't worry, you'll get your second part soon!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: And so, after much writers block and frustration and hair tearing and late night writing sessions and being yelled at encouragingly by my beta for this, who is a wonderful and inspiring person, here it is. (Seriously, SO many props to her) One week later, rather than the one day I had planned, chapter two.

In my defense, it's also longer.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Adrien felt the world shift under him. He remembered Marinette coming to say hi to him, stuttering, something hidden behind her back. His surprise his father had gotten him something that he'd actually liked. That he'd payed enough attention to his son at all to know his tastes. Still, he didn't want to believe it. He turned to Marinette, hoping that she would make it not true. Her expression destroyed any hope he had left. Before he could begin to fall, she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her.

"Adrien?" She asked, making him look up. She seemed to have settled him down on her chaise. He hadn't noticed. He wasn't tracking well. This time her concern filled eyes weren't funny.

"I… I just need a minute alone," he managed to say, his world still spinning. Biting her lip, she nodded at him.

"I'll just get changed for dinner then…" She replied, and he can hear how worried about him she was. For some reason, that just made it all worse. But he couldn't break down in front of her, and he needed to. She grabbed the dress they'd spent so long talking about earlier and, with a final look, she disappeared down the stairs. Adrien found himself slipping off the chaise and bringing his knees to his chest. He knew it shouldn't hurt as much as it did. After all, his father had already abandoned him on Christmas. This really shouldn't be such a surprise. It was just… He'd thought this was a sign that things were finally getting better after mom… He felt himself about to cry when suddenly there was a sharp pain on his nose.

"Ah!" He crossed his eyes to see Plagg biting him, looking really pissed off. "Plagg! What are you doing out! Stop Biting me!" He started shaking his head back and forth, trying desperately to dislodge the kwami firmly affixed there.

"Do I have your attention now?" He said, crossing his tiny arms.

"Yes," Adrien replied, rubbing his nose and glaring.

"Good, cause I've known you were an idiot for a long time, but this really takes the cheese."

"Isn't the expression takes the cake?"

"Not the point! The point is you're an idiot. A cheeseless idiot, too, I might add. It's Christmas, and what do you say you want? A family! And here one is, happy to take you in and treat you as their own, with no warning at all, and what do you do? You have a breakdown, you ungrateful little cheese curd! And why? Cause it turns out that beautiful girl you've half had your eye on—oh don't try to deny it, I've seen the way you flirt with her, if you can call that flirting, you weird human—has wanted you to be happy for longer than you thought! In fact, she's wanted you to be so happy, that she didn't even tell you when you thought it was from your dad, and that made you happy! And how do you replay her kindness? You breakdown when you find out it was from her, after all the effort she put into it, and after she'd invited you to stay for Christmas. Also, you're alone in a room with a pretty girl, and all you can think to do is cry? You are—without a doubt—the stupidest Chat Noir I've ever been with and you're just lucky you have me to watch out for you." Plagg growled with one final huff as Adrien stared dumbfoundedly at his k. "And now I'm all tired from being useful and you owe me all the cheese in the world for being such an awesome Kwami. Camembert, for preference." And suddenly, his kwami was taking his usual place in his shirt, and there was a knock at the trapdoor.

"Adrien?" Came a deep voice. "Can I come in?"

"Y—yes," Adrien called, feeling slightly strange to be being consulted before someone came into Marinette's room.

Tom pushed open the trapdoor and frowned when he saw the Adrien sitting on the floor like that. A frowning father—Adrien felt his back straighten and his knees come down. He couldn't be seen like this.

If anything, Tom's frown deepened, and Adrien started to quail internally. Had he just messed up this one bright thing? He held himself and his smile still as Tom came more fully into the room, carrying a tray which he placed gently down on Marinette's desk, before coming to crouch down in front of Adrien.

"Marinette told us…" He started, before sighing. "Sabine and I want you to know you always have a place here, if you need it. And if you need an adult to talk to, we'd be happy to listen," He continued gently, before carefully reaching out and ruffling his hair again with a soft smile. "Marinette will be back up in a minute, and Sabine and I will be downstairs if you need anything." He said, before getting to his feet and heading back downstairs. Adrien didn't find himself any less floored this time, than the last. Instead of being upset at him for this out burst, they'd reached out to him, like… like mom had when she'd been…

Adrien got to his feet and went to see what had been on the tray. There he found two mugs of hot chocolate and two chocolatines, still warm from the oven. If Adrien had been floored before, he was basemented now. Plagg had been right, much as he didn't want to admit it. This family was amazing and… and it really seemed to want him around. They'd even made him his favourite pastry, just to make him feel welcome.

"Adrien, is it OK if I come up," A voice behind him said, and he spun around to see Marinette's head sticking up into her room, expression worried.

"Marinette!" He said, large smile spreading across his face. Then it faltered as he tried to figure out what to say next. Should he act like his small breakdown just hadn't happened? "Um…" he turned back to the desk and picked up the tray, offering it to her. "Want a chocolatine?" A huge smile split her face and she climbed up into the room.

This time, Adrien was floored in a different kind of way. She had changed into her dress and it looked good on her. Really good. It hugged her torso, flattering her figure. The neckline was open, showing off her collar bones, neck and… 'You're alone in a room with a pretty girl and all you can think to do is…' Adrien swallowed and took a firmer grip on the tray. After he'd thanked his kwami for getting him out of this funk, he'd have to strangle him for planting ideas in his head.

"Thanks," She smiled, coming up to him and taking the tray. Despite her blush when their fingers brushed, he was fairly certain that he was the one who was blushing harder. She went over to the chaise and sat at one end, placing the tray next to her. Adrien made himself sit down on the other side, tray firmly between them.

"Dad said there are more for later, but he didn't want us filling up too much before dinner." She said, picking up one of the mugs of hot chocolate and blowing on it before taking a sip. She put it down and wrung her hands.

"Adrien… a—about the scarf…" She glanced at him and then at her lap. Adrien sighed. He supposed they needed to have this conversation. He tore off a piece of chocolatine and popped it in his mouth, trying to think of what to say. "My mom didn't know you speak chinese and…"

Adrien shook his head, swallowing. "I'm… I'm glad I know. And it's a lovely scarf, Marinette." He smiled at her and she turned bright red. He searched for another topic change. Not how good she looked, not the scarf… "Your dad's chocolatines are amazing," He finally said, ripping off another bite.

"Best bakery in Paris!" Marinette smiled proudly.

"So you said on parents show and tell day." He smiled back at her, ignoring his own memories of that day. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to try the croissant before the whole akuma attack."

"We're lucky that Chat Noir and Ladybug saved the day," Marinette replied, with a strange sort of smile. Apparently, seeing him upset had made brought up her confidence, so at least it had done some good.

"They're amazing, aren't they," Adrien replied, thinking of his Lady.

"They really are," She agreed, smiling softly into her mug. "A perfect team, constantly balancing and working off one another. It's amazing how much they trust each other. They always seem to know what they other is thinking, without having to explain it. I mean!" She looked up at him suddenly, eyes very wide and biting her bottom lip. Adrien's eyes were drawn to that, and he forced himself to look back up, even if… No. He wasn't thinking about that and he was definitely going to strangle Plagg. "Well, that's how it always seems on the video Alya posts."

"You follow the Ladyblog?" Adrien asked.

"Well, my best friend does run it," She replied, giving him a look. "Do you?"

Adrien didn't know all that much about girls, but he knew better than to admit to having a massive crush on another girl to the cute, kind girl in front of him and he certainly wasn't going to admit his phone notified him every time Alya updated… even if he could totally justify it that he needed to know if there was a new Akuma attack, if his Lady needed him… not that he could tell Marinette that.

"Yeah, I check it out." And then, deciding to be at least a little honest with her. "I am a bit of a Ladybug fan," he continued, trying to sound casual. Realizing he was blushing despite his best effort, he tried to cover it by eating more chocolatine.

"Ladybug? Not Chat Noir?" Marinette asked, frowning. Adrien nearly choked on his pastry. "Adrien!" She squeaked, reaching out to him. He held out his hand to reassure her as he coughed. She placed his mug of hot chocolate in his hand and he took a gulp to help clear his throat.

"Why would you think I'm a fan of Chat Noir?" He asked her, wide eyed. Surely she hadn't figured it out. Somehow, he didn't think his Lady would be pleased if someone found out who he was. True, it was his identity, and his to do with what he pleased, but still.

"Well, after the whole Evilustrator incident, you asked me about him, I just assumed..." Adrien blinked, and suddenly relaxed. Right, he had pretty much tracked her down to find out what she thought of him. He really really needed to stop being an idiot and fast. It didn't help that he had to spend so much brain power _not_ noticing how wide and blue her eyes were, or how soft her lips looked or- _or all the_ _other things he wasn't noticing._

"Well," he said thinking quickly, "You're one of the only people I know who has had an up close experience with our heroes for any length of time. I've always wondered what they're like in person, so I thought I'd ask, even if you didn't interact with Ladybug." Come to think of it, he never had found out what his Lady had been doing...

"Chat Noir is just as important as Ladybug!" She snapped fiercely, before starting to blush. "I mean, yes, she's the one with the magic to make everything better, but they're a team! Ladybug depends on Chat Noir! She can't save Paris without him. They need each other. Anyone who sees them together should be able to tell that." Her expression was soft an inward, and Adrien wondered if she knew she was still talking out loud. Suddenly she looked up, her blush almost as bad as it had been in the beginning of the afternoon. "I mean, most of the time he was around, he was making really terrible puns, and being a terrible flirt, and you're still cooler..." She trailed off and, eyes wide in panic, shoved about half her chocolatine in her mouth.

"Chat Noir flirted with you?" He asked, knowing the answer full well. Had he really been into Marinette for so long? He could almost hear Plagg's disgusted snort.

This time it was Marinette's turn to choke on chocolatine, and his to offer her her drink, which she gulped down gratefully, clearing her throat.

"Yes?" She squeaked.

"Really? I hadn't realized I had such impressive competition." He smirked. He was pretty sure that shade of red couldn't be healthy, but she was still cute. "But then again, you did say I was cooler, so maybe I still have a chance." He smiled at her, not Chat's smirk, but Adrien's large happy smile. He was managing to flirt competently, he was getting along well with Marinette, even after the whole scarf kerfuffle, and he had just had the best chocolatine of his life, could this Christmas get any better?

After a few minutes of silence, where Adrien tried to not look at her, to give her a chance to recover herself-though he couldn't help sneaking side looks and smiling. She'd defended Chat Noir! When most of the world had eyes for Ladybug (not that he could blame them, she _was_ incredible) it seemed beautiful, brave, inspiring, warm Marinette had found a place in her heart for a bad luck kitty. She'd even overcome all of her usual blushing and stuttering to stand up to him for, well, him. Maybe he could pay her more visits as Chat, as well as getting closer to her at school. How had he never realized exactly how incredible she was?

And not just incredible, he noted, as he cast her another glance, and finishing off the last of his snack and, but beautiful and talented. He knew fashion well enough to tell the craftsmanship of the dress. And the colour, the shape, she was absolutely beautiful. The only thing that was a little off was...

"Can I curl your hair?" Adrien's mouth said, much to the consternation of his brain. Where had that come from?!

* * *

Marinette blinked at Adrien. Had she just heard that right?

"I mean," he said, starting to turn a little red. "If you have a curling iron... Your dress is amazing, but it would look better with curled hair, instead of pigtails. Not that your pig tails aren't adorable, it's just the dress and..." He was bright red and stuttering. Was this what she was like when she talked to him? She feared the answer was yes. Still, Adrien doing her hair. Alya would never believe it.

"I have one, if you want to curl my hair." She offered, and he looked very relieved. "Can we do it by the vanity?"

"Of course!" He replied, jumping to his feet, and following her. She bent down and rummaged in the cupboard under her sink, trying to find the curling iron and being surprisingly graceful. She was running completely on auto-pilot. Adrien was going to do her hair. _Adrien_ was going to be doing _her hair_. _Adrien was going to be doing her hair_. He was going to be near her, touching her, for an extended period of time. He would be standing close, running his hands through her hair...

She was entirely on auto-pilot as she plugged it in and turned back to him.

"How do you want to set up?" She asked, smiling dazedly.

"Well..." Adrien said, looking around and seeming to be glad to happy to look anywhere but her. The part of her brain that wasn't screaming and wasn't entirely on autopilot noted he was still blushing. She wondered why. There wasn't enough brainpower to figure out an answer.

"If you sat on your sewing stool in front of the vanity, I could move around you as I needed and you could see the progress I was making?" He finally offered, making it more of a question than a statement.

"Sure!" She replied, smiling brightly and bringing the chair over. The chair she would sit on _while Adrien did her hair!_ Still exceedingly graceful and not entirely there, she took her seat. Adrien came carefully up beside her and picked up the curling iron. Putting his hand near it to tell if it was hot, he turned back to her and opened his mouth. Then he frowned.

"Marinette, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. You look great with pigtails," He reached for the off button on the hair curler and Marinette's brain came crashing down. Adrien _wasn't_ going to do her hair. No. This could not be allowed to happen.

"Wait!" She managed, throwing out a hand, channelling her most commanding Ladybug voice and causing him to freeze, finger on the power button. "I do want you to curl my hair," she said, forcing a confident smile. "I'm just..." completely unable to believe that the guy I've been crushing on since forever _is about to be that close and spend that long touching me._ "I'm just a little nervous about having my hair curled. Last time she did it Alya burned my ear..." She rubbed her right one, remembering the pain. Both of these statements were true. She was kinda nervous, that she'd do something horribly wrong and Adrien would never want to be close to her again. And Alya had burned her ear, though not at all badly... So technically, she wasn't REALLY lying to Adrien? Adrien's smile turned both relieved and reassuring. God, could he be any cuter?

"Don't worry, Princess. I know what I'm doing and I won't burn you." He smiled at her. She smiled back at him (even if he had used Chat's Nickname. Again. Argh.). There was a lot of smiled, and it was starting to get awkward.

"Um… Marinette…" Adrien said, looking between her and the curling iron.

"Yes?" She squeaked, wondering what was wrong _this_ time.

"Uh, would you mind taking your hair down? I can't curl it with it still in the pig tails…" He almost sounded apologetic, Marinette notices as she turned bright red, _again_ (seriously, she was starting to look like one of the flashing Christmas lights strung up outside the Bakery, and it was _not_ ok) and scrambled to pull her hair out of her signature style. She winced as she pulled a bit of hair out in her haste, but soon enough it was loose, just around past her shoulders. She ran her hands through it a few times, before nodding at Adrien to begin. He smiled, took a deep breath and ran his own hand through her hair, separating out the piece he wanted to curl. Marinette was awash in a sea of bliss as she felt Adrien's fingers caress her scalp. He has such wonderful hands. And they were touching her. She was far too ecstatic to be embarrassed and, if it weren't for the hot burny thing near by, she'd probably be jumping for joy.

At least she was, until suddenly he stopped. Marinette almost whimpered. It was a dream come true, _so why did things keep going wrong!_ Things never went wrong in her dreams. Unless this was nightmare? No. This couldn't be a nightmare. Nothing was on fire, her earrings were still in, Chat wasn't injured or rudely making out with her in front of Adrien. This couldn't _possibly_ be a nightmare. So if things would start running smoothly, she'd be very grateful. Wasn't she supposed to have good luck?

Opening her eyes-And when, exactly, had she closed them?- she looked at Adrien in the mirror. His face was very drawn and he seemed very stiff.

"Adrien?" She called softly, not sure what was going on. Was there something wrong with her hair? Oh God. There was something wrong with her hair. But she'd washed it just yesterday. She forced herself to stay calm. Where was Alya when she needed her to make sure things went smoothly? "Are you alright?"

His strangely dark eyes locked onto hers and he suddenly let go of her hair, face going red. He cleared his throat, once, twice, before finally speaking.

"Sorry, I just got distracted. So, how was your break?" He asked, reaching for her hair again. Deciding he needed something else to think about, rather than whatever had given him that pained expression, she started prattling on about her plans with Alya. He would offer a few comments about sneaking out to see Nino, a photo shoot planned before school restarted, but mostly, he just let her talk and concentrated on her hair. One section at a time, he gave her fairly loose curls that fell warm from the iron to warmly kiss her neck. She almost shivered at the sensation. In fact, all of this situation was made for her being distracted and she was definitely sure this situation belonged in the dream category. The way Adrien separated her hair, ran his hands through it… It was gentle and soft and it made her just melt on in inside… in more ways than one. When she wasn't careful to think only about Alya and other safe topics, her mind drifted to…

"Marinette?" Adrien asked, fingers skillfully separating out the next section for the curl. Uh-oh. Seems she'd trailed off mid-sentences. What had she been saying? She desperately cast her memory back and came up with her imagining how Adrien's hair might might feel under her hands… "The sauce?" He prompted, looking at her in the mirror and giving an encouraging smile. Oh! Right!

"So there we were," She continued, finally figuring out where she left off, "Sauce all over the stove, the floor, _and us_ ," Adrien laughed quietly as she kept telling the story of the fiasco and he moved steadily around her head, working one lock of hair at a time. It was strange, how quickly and easily the words would flow off her tongue, with barely a stutter. With him being this close, she ought to be a gibbering mess, and on the inside, part of her was. She was glad she could talk to him about something that wasn't sewing though-and wouldn't Alya be surprised when she saw her interacting with Adrien again. Maybe it was the way the way his stroking her hair put it her at ease. Or maybe, some deep down part of her, that she didn't want to listen to supplied, maybe it's that this feels familiar, not the words, no, but the pattern. You speak, he makes bad jokes, you roll your eyes, don't tell me you can't see it. But, she was with _Adrien_ not Chat, and so she didn't listen.

"There," Adrien finished, with an uncomfortably familiar grin. He turned off the curling iron and placed it carefully back on the vanity. "Now, let me do a final check." He spun her around on her chair and bent over so he could examine his work head on. Marinette froze. His face was so close to hers, bare inches away. He frowned slightly and reached forward to tug one of her new curls into place, and her breath caught in her throat. Suddenly, he was looking straight into her eyes, and she could see how quickly his eyes went dark with something that made her insides coil.

"Adrien…" She breathed, and watched as his eyes flicked down to her mouth and back to hers, his look now more intense. He bit his lower lip and Marinette found that this time it was her eyes that were drawn down, before darting back up, the sight a fan to her flames. His eyes still locked with hers, his hand shifted, till it was no longer readjusting her hair, but moving to cup her cheek. She wasn't sure which one of them was leaning forward, but the gap between them was slowly disappearing. She felt like she should be closing her eyes, but nothing could make her break away from the intense beautiful green ones that held her. Less than an inch of distance remained and his eyes seemed to drink her in-

"Marinette! Adrien!" her mother's voice called from downstairs. "Dinner's ready."

Adrien jerked back like he'd been electrocuted and Marinette shrieked and fell backwards off her stool. Fortunately, her dress managed to stay down.

"Marinette, are you ok?" Came her mom's concerned voice.

"Fine mom! We'll be down in a sec." She replied, eyes still locked with Adrien, who had all the colour drained from his face. She was sure that she, on the other hand, was tomato red. She propped herself on her elbows and the silence stretched between them.

"Oh my god, Marinette, I'm so so-"

"You should head downstairs." Marinette cut him off, turning away. "I'll be down after I put the curling iron away." He took one look at her and left, metaphorical tail between his legs. When you spent enough time with Chat Noir, you had to learn to specify. When his perfect blond head had disappeared, she curled up on herself, hugging her knees to her chest. Her biggest crush ever had been about to apologize for trying to kiss her. He'd looked horrified. Was the prospect of kissing her really that bad? Tikki floated down from where she'd been hiding in Marinette's bed. With a few encouraging words, and a careful wiping away of incipient tears, she had Marinette moving again, putting away the curling iron, before going downstairs to join her family. With this heavy a heart, she wasn't sure it would feel like Christmas at all.

* * *

"Hello Adrien," Sabine said, as Adrien came to the bottom of the stairs. She paused, frowning up at the trap door. "Is Marinette coming down?"

"She'll be down in a minute. She's just tidying up." He replied, terrible feelings of guilt hidden under the full blown adult mask. She hadn't been able to look at him. Had his name been a warning to back off that he just hadn't listened to? What had he been thinking, trying to kiss her? Oh, when he was getting home, he'd decided viciously, Plagg was going to have a nice, long, _bath_.

"Adrien…" Sabine trailed off, before gesturing to a seat at the table, which had already been set. "Take a seat." Instant panic filled Adrien. His mind raced as he took a seat and Sabine sat down on his right. Oh God. Did she know what he had tried to do to her daughter? A serious adult wanting to talk to him never ended well. He braced himself, not sure that he'd be able to take whatever was coming on top of the memory of Marinette turning away from him or the hurt in her voice when she'd told him to go ahead of him. He had to though. He couldn't afford to break down. Not again. He felt the colour drain from his face. Was she going to lecture him on th-

"I'm sorry." Sabine said, with concerned eyes. Adrien blinked at her, trying to stop his jaw from falling open. He couldn't possibly have heard correctly.

"Pardon…?" He asked, not entirely sure what else to say.

"I'm sorry," Sabine repeated, and this time there was absolutely no room for doubt in Adrien's mind. Sabine, Marinette's mother, had just apologized to him. "I didn't know you spoke Chinese and I didn't mean to upset you with my comment. Marinette explained to Tom and me what happened and it should have stayed a matter between you, Marinette and your father. It was wrong of me to interfere and I didn't mean to cause you pain. I hope we can move past it and that you always feel welcome here." She smiled at him, and this time Adrien was… sub-basemented? He really needed to work on his metaphors. _She,_ the _adult,_ had apologized to him. For some stupid reason, he felt like he was going to cry again.

"Oh Adrien," Sabine said, and got up to come around the table to give him a hug. The hug almost undid him completely. He could remember the last time he'd had this kind of hug. He could remember every detail. It had been… quite some time.

"Mom?" Marinette's voice came from the stairs and Adrien found himself jerking around in his chair to look at her. Was she alright? Sabine jumped back at his sudden reaction and he shot her an apologetic look, before turning to see his shining Princess, whom he had managed to hurt.

"Marinette," Sabine said, a smile in her voice, "You look lovely!"

Lovely? _Lovely?_ Lovely didn't even begin to describe her. She looked like a dream, like the princess he often called her. She almost looked as good as-no. She looked even better than Ladybug, standing there, proud in the dress she made, a testament to her talent and skill, and her hair, dark and bright, dancing in curls around her head as she smiled brightly at her mother's compliment. She was a vision.

"You're beautiful," someone said, tone reverent. When Marinette gave him a wide eyed look and started blushing, and Sabine patted him approvingly on the back, he'd realized hit was him. 'Oh, great job' he sarcastically complimented himself. 'First you nearly assault he and now you're freaking her out about her outfit. Some Hero you are,'

Then again, on the other hand, she'd seemed genuinely flattered when he'd complimented her before…

Before he could think more about that, Tom came up from the bakery carrying a loaf of bread and a large pastry bag.

"The rest of the chocolatines, for snacks, later," He said, smiling at Adrien, before handing him the bag. "Merry Christmas."

"Sorry we couldn't get something better, but this was very short notice," Sabine said, warmly, while giving her daughter a look. Marinette turned a darker shade of and her hand went to up toy with her curls. Yes, he thought to himself, those loose curls had definitely been the right choice.

Tom shook the bag again slightly and it suddenly occurred to him what had just happened.

"Those are… for me?" He asked, hardly able to believe it. "But… I don't have anything to give you." He felt surprisingly guilty about that, despite the fact he could have had no idea that this would happen.

"You kept Marinette company while we were busy cooking," Sabine replied with a smile,

"And you helped deliver the Buche!" Tom added, dropping the bag of pastries on his lap, before ruffling his hair. Adrien thought, given how much his hair had been ruffled, he probably looked more like Chat than himself right now, aside from the total lack of a confidence in his posture. It was strange how, despite this being the best day he'd had in years, it made him want to cry so much.

"Thank you." He managed, hugging the pastries close to his chest. This was better than all the pens in the world. Better, even, than a falsely given scarf. He would savour every one of them. He resolved to get the best gift he could think of. He'd guilt Father into providing funds if he had to. Maybe Marinette would be able to help him pick something. He glanced at her, and saw her huge smile, only to have her look away when she saw him looking, blushing. He felt awful. He'd have to find a way of making it up to her, too.

"But, for now, how about I put them on the counter, and we eat dinner." Sabine smiled at him. Reluctantly, he handed the bag over. "Marinette, can you help me get all the food on the table?"

"I'll help!" Adrien said, springing to his feet.

Between the four of them, all the food somehow managed to make it's way onto the table. Adrien was surprised it all fit. He could see why Marinette's parents had been teasing each other over the amount of food. This could _easily_ feed twelve people, and they'd only been expecting three…

It was all absolutely delicious. It wasn't as fine and delicate as he'd grown used to at important meals, but it was warm, and filling and delicious and there was more that enough for him to eat his fill and try some of everything.

Of course, the meal was made even better by the company. Adrien couldn't remember the last time any family meal he'd been at had been filled with so much laughter and joy. Marinette's parents teased her, and got him to open up about his life and the stuff he actually enjoyed. They kindly kept the conversation away from his home life, and Marinette and Tom looked on with fond bemusement as he and Sabine got into a conversation about physics. Apparently, she was interested in the subject and would be happy to lend him some of her books. He'd listened in awe as Sabine and Tom argued about the complex formulas of new recipes they were thinking of trying. He even managed to get Marinette talking about some of the sewing ideas she'd shown him, getting her to expand her thoughts. He wasn't sure when he felt his 'adult' mask slip away, but by the end of the meal, it was gone.

Over the course of dinner, she seemed to relax, squawking as her parents teased her, jumping to his defence when they playfully teased him, offering him more food. By the start of dessert, she was even smiling at him without blushing too badly again. Maybe he hadn't caused irreparable damage, with his hormonal impulse. Plagg was still getting that bath though.

Dessert was the best Buche he'd ever had in his entire life. He was going to _insist_ Father started ordering more pastries and food from this bakery. Everything he'd eaten here was heavenly, and he had to stop himself from actually drooling, or just pouncing on the cake and fleeing, to devour it in some dark corner. Apparently, Sabine noticed as she offered him another slice, which he accepted, slightly embarrassed.

"Nonsense," Tom waved away the embarrassment. "You're a growing boy. You need the food, if you're going to grow properly." Looking at Tom, Adrien kind of hoped he wouldn't get quite that big. The man was wonderful, intelligent and kind, but also a veritable giant.

"Dad…" Marinette trailed off, sounding rather defeated. Apparently she was used to her parent's antics.

Looking out the window, Sabine frowned.

"It's coming down pretty hard out there," she murmured, before looking at Tom. A series of facial expressions passed between them, and Adrien turned to Marinette, who just shrugged and continued to eat her cake. Apparently trying to figure out what they were doing was useless, so Adrien followed her example and enjoyed his second slice, before glancing out the window himself. Sabine was right, the snow was falling thick and fast, already gathered fairly high on the window sill, despite the fact there'd been no snow earlier in the day.

"Adrien," Sabine finally said, catching him with his mouth full.

"Yes?" He replied, after swallowing quickly.

"Neither Tom nor I feel comfortable driving in this weather and in the dark, and you shouldn't be out walking in it. Would you be alright staying here overnight, until the storm passes in the morning?" She smiled at him. Adrien's heart soared at the idea of not returning home to the cold, empty mansion just yet. Being here, where it was warm and happy and safe for another night.

"I need to make a few calls, but I'm sure it will be fine." Father wasn't home to order him back, and Nathalie had Christmas off, so it wasn't like she would be there to enforce Father's will. He's really just have to tell the skeleton staff what was going on.

"Excellent!" Tom, said, smiling brightly. "I'll lend you some pajamas." Adrien looked at the giant of a man sitting next to him. There was absolutely no way that anything of his would come even close to fitting. "Marinette, if I give you a pair I don't need anymore, can you make some adjustments?"

"Sure thing, papa." She said, eyes going quickly into what Adrien now knew to be sewer/designer mode.

"You don't need to do that," Adrien tried to insist, but all three members of the Dupain-Cheng family waved him off.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch. I take naps there and it's quite comfortable." Sabine reassured him.

"I'm sure it will be fine," he said, smiling hugely. "I'll just go make those calls."

He slipped away from the table, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It was time to call the manor and tell them that, that night, he'd be staying home.

* * *

Marinette gathered what she'd need to hem the pajamas, loading up her bobbins and starting to thread the machine.

"Marinette?" Adrien called, his head popping up through the trapdoor. "I have the pajamas your father gave me."

"Great!" She called over her shoulder, "Can you just put them on inside out? They shouldn't take long to bring in." Simple, quickly bringing the seams in, she thought.

"Sure," He replied, as Marinette finished threading the machine.

"Where should I leave this?" Adrien asked, and Marinette turned around, wondering what he was asking about. She stopped, jaw hanging open.

Adrien was shirtless in her room. _Adrien was shirtless in her room._ And one of his hands had already gone to his belt and—

" _STOP!"_ She shrieked, before wondering why she had. Adrien shirtless was a sight to behold. Skin. So much skin. Surprisingly defined musculature. Marinette wanted to imprint this image on her brain forever. She was sure it would keep her warm on cold nights. He looked unfairly good.

"Marinette..." Adrien's uncertain voice interrupted her taking in of the view. Her eyes finally made it up to his face, where he was blushing slightly, and looking confused, and there was the ghost of the expression he'd had just before he'd almost kissed her. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm-I'm fine," She finally managed. "You… I…" She shook her head and forced herself to focus on the task she had to complete. "You can put them on over your clothes. I'm just doing rough taking in, not detailed fittings. Let's start with the shirt though. You… uh.. you can leave your shirt on my chaise." She offered, not really wanting him to put it back on, quite yet.

All too soon he had the pajama shirt on and she was putting pins in place to mark where she'd have to sew. The positions were reversed from before, Adrien holding still while she moved close around his body. This time, though, there was silence, and it was very charged. They could hear each others breathing, the silence only broken when she asked him to shift so she could insert a pin. Finally, those adjustments were marked and she was ready to take off the shirt.

"Raise your hands above your head," She told him softly, and he did. She took the edges of the shirt and tried to ignore the way the backs of her fingers slide across his skin as she carefully took it off him. In no time at all he was shirtless before her and she was holding the pajama shirt and his eyes were so dark…

"Marinette…" He said, his voice surprisingly low. His hands started to move forward, and Marinette was confused. Didn't he not want to kiss her? It must have shown in her face because suddenly, he stopped, and then moved so he was holding her hands instead, the shirt still firmly between them. "I'm… I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable tonight. I never meant to hurt you," He finally said, confusing her even further. "Thank you for altering the pajamas and giving me my best Christmas." He smiled at her. "I'll go put my shirt on."

"Wait!' Marinette cried, not sure what was going on, but sure she didn't want him fully clothed again so soon, "We should do the pants first." Adrien's eyebrows shot up and she felt herself turn red. "So I can do make the adjustments quicker. So you can sleep. It is getting late."

"Over my jeans, right?" He asked, eyebrows still up.

"Mhm," she nodded.

"Alright." She went and put the shirt on the sewing table.

Pinning the pants was faster, and the atmosphere less heavy, even if Adrien did need to keep clearing his throat. She hoped he wasn't coming down with a cold. Then he lounged on her chaise, looking entirely too comfortable, while she made the needed adjustments and trimmed the excess fabric and they chatted very comfortably. It was easier to talk to him, when she didn't have to look at him, especially now that she'd seen him shirtless. In her bedroom. Still, she hoped that, when school started up again, they could keep some of this ease between them, that she'd still have this Christmas courage.

"Done!" She said, snipping the last threads. It wasn't her best work, but it would do for now. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Adrien said, bounding to his feet and rushing over. He held them up to look at them. "They look great!"

"Well, mom set up the couch downstairs for you—" Marinette interrupted herself with a fake yawn. She wanted to savour the moment, but she still had work to do. "Sorry," She smiled up at him. "I'm just kinda tired…"

"I'll let you get some sleep then…" Adrien replied, his smile turning slightly sad and hurting her heart. "Good night, Marinette."

"Good night, Adrien," She smiled back.

Half way down the stairs he turn back to close the trap door after him, and then, he turned and smiled one more time at her.

"Merry Christmas." He was gone before she could respond.

After a few blinks and a shake of the head to pull her thoughts together, she went and opened the drawer that contained her most precious project.

"But Marinette," Tikki said, swooping down, "I thought you were going to go to sleep. Aren't you tired?"

"Not really," Marinette replied, pulling the project out. The one thing she'd been very careful to not mention in front of Adrien. Something nearly finished, just requiring the last little bits of embroidery, that she'd planned to finish over the break and in time for getting back to school. Adrien's Christmas present. "And besides," she continued, getting out her embroidery floss. "I've got work to do."

* * *

Plagg looked down at his idiot human from the light fixture that he planned to sleep on. He was hoping Tikki would sneak down later so they could chat (heheheh), it had been too long. And if she did, he didn't want to wake Adrien. Explaining what Ladybug's kwami was doing in Marinette's house would not work well. They had to tell each other when they were ready. Plagg and Tikki had tried interfering before. It... hadn't ended well.

Still, he doubted his _lady_ would come downstairs while his _idiot_ was still awake. Oh, sure, he _looked_ asleep, but Plagg had been with the kid long enough to tell the difference. He'd turned out the lights because he didn't want to be a bother to anyone else, and true, his eyes were closed, because he _wanted_ to go to sleep, but he wasn't asleep yet. He was probably lying there, fantasizing about Ladybug… or maybe after today, it was a different black haired, blue eyes girl who had caught his imagination, never mind that they were really one and the same. Plagg knew how many times he had almost kissed her today. _Almost_ being the important word, the dunderhead that he was!

Plagg found himself very surprised, then, when the trapdoor to Marinette's room opened, and the girl snuck out, wrapped package in her hands. Tikki zoomed out towards him moments later, tackling him.

"My Lady!" He said happily, careful to keep his voice quiet enough not to disturb the humans below.

"Hello, silly kitty," she said, scratching him being his ears, causing him to writhe. He rubbed his face against hers.

"It's been too long," he rumbled, taking pleasure in feeling whole outside the suit for the first time in years, before pulling back and addressing business.

"So, what's yours up to?" He asked.

" _Marinette,"_ Tikki emphasized the name. Plagg had never seen the need for the names. He knew Adrien was a person, distinct from every Chat Noir he'd ever been with (there was a reason he'd chosen Adrien specifically, and not, say, someone who worked in a cheese shop), but at the end of the day he was still Plagg's, just as Marinette was now Tikki's. Ladybugs just weren't that kind of territorial. "finished Adrien's gift and wanted to put it for him to find in the morning." Tikki explained.

"Won't she be surprised to find out he's still awake," Plagg shrugged. "And my Lady took the opportunity to sneak down to see me! Say, do you know where they keep the chee-"

"He's what?!" Tikki squeaked, blue eyes hilariously wide.

"He's awake." Plagg replied, smirking. "Now about that cheese?"

"Plagg!" Tikki scolded. "Be quiet. I wanna watch!" She peaked over the edge of the light fixture to watch the scene below, illuminated by Christmas tree lights.

"Shall we make it more interesting?" he asked, summoning some bad luck to his hand. He and Tikki could use their powers on others, but mostly didn't both. The world was interesting enough, and they were satisfied with their powers leaking to only their human, most of the time. "A gift to each other's humans."

"You wouldn't hurt Marinette, would you?" Tikki asked, giving him yet another look.

"You wound me," He deadpanned, before waving his paw full of dark energy. "Well?"

"Oh alright," She smiled at him, summoning up her own good luck powers. "Ready?"

"Always."

"Go!"

The trails of light, visible only to the kwami, went at struck the two teenagers. While bending down to place the present on the coffee table, the bad luck struck Marinette, and her feet went out from under her. She squeaked, bracing for an impact with the floor.

Adrien's eyes flew open at the sound, and seeing her fall, his cat like reflexes and the good luck Tikki had provided meant he managed to grab her and pull her so she fell on top of him and not the floor.

"Just you watch," Plagg growled, looking at the pair, faces inches apart and eyes wide. "Nothing's gonna happen. He's utterly hopeless and she's way too shy."

"Plagg?" Tikki turned to him, sounding concerned. Oops, seemed he'd let too much emotion into his voice.

"I just wish they'd hurry up," He admitted. "I've missed you, my lady." After millenia, they were used to the separation, but he'd always hated this awkward in between phase, when they'd found their human, but the humans hadn't revealed their identity yet, and after what had happened to the last Ladybug and Chat Noir… He just wanted to be with his Lady again. Always.

"Oh, Plagg. Just watch and wait," She said, smiling at him again.

* * *

Adrien looked up into Marinette's face, lit by the Christmas tree just enough to see. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide. He had no idea what she was doing down here—hadn't she wanted to go to sleep?— but she was beautiful and she was _on top of him_ and all the feelings from curling her hair, seeing her reaction to his being shirtless, the feeling of her hands against his skin as she took of her shirt, all he wanted to do was kiss her. Kiss her senseless. Kiss her until she was moaning and could barely breathe.

She'd found a boy who was feeling alone and unloved and dragged him into a family and given him a home in a ridiculous short time and somewhere in between the conversation and the laughter and the blushes and the warmth, he'd started to fall for her, and fall hard. He wanted to kiss her and show her how much she and what she'd done for him meant.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, hoping not to disturb her parents.

"Mhm," She mumbled back, biting her lower lip and looking at him with those wide, beautiful eyes. He swallowed and noticed his arms were still firmly wrapped around her. He should probably let her go, he realized.

"I should—" He started, but before he could finish, her eyes closed, and she leaned down and kissed him. His mind went blank, and when he was back in possession of himself, he was kissing her back passionately, her hands were tangled in his hair and and he had one on her lower back and the other doing an excellent job of messing up the curls he'd put so much effort into earlier that day, and tilting her head to let him deepen the kiss and she responded…

Adrien's only coherent thought that he would later remember was,

Best. Christmas. Ever.

* * *

"See," Tikki said, looking up for the scene below to give the teenagers some privacy, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe they aren't so useless after all. Now, let's go see about that cheese."

* * *

A/N: It's over. It's finally over. That took a lotta doing...

*Thinks about how this is the perfect set up for a reveal fic and how Nino and Alya would react and Marinette and Adrien's angst about how their new relationship will effect their superhero relationship and Adrien's reaction to Marinette's gift*

Will... Not... Write... Sequel...

...Do you guys think I should?

Also, yeah, Plagg's reaction is not the best one when dealing with someone who is really distressed. Do not ask yourself what would Plagg do. It will not end well. Fortunately for everyone in the story though. It still worked out nicely. 

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi. I was saving this till Christmas, but I think we all need some post election fluff therapy. So I've posted the first chapter of this sequel. Please, feel free the check it out.

I love you all, and thank you so much for asking for a sequel so often and all the kudos and comments. They mean the absolute world to me.

Enjoy!


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